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Defined benefit plans, DC plans and 403(b) annuity arrangements, take note: July 31 is right around the corner. That’s the day by which most plans must file the dreaded and onerous Form 5500. The clock is ticking on filing the form that reports on 2013. The form must be filed by the end of the...
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Quick! Name a way to increase employees’ retirement readiness. Did you respond, “build employee engagement”? That’s the answer Richard Glass of Investment Horizons, Inc. would give. In his white paper, “Employee Engagement, Corporate Profitability, and Retirement Readiness," Glass argues that there...
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The ink is barely dry on the legislation that raised the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) premiums, and already there is a proposal to hike them again. In an op-ed that appears in Roll Call, Judy Miller, ASPPA’s Director of Retirement Policy, writes about the prospect and what it means...
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Generally, federal law requires employee benefit plans with 100 or more participants to have an audit as part of their obligation to file a Form 5500. Note that some pension plans with fewer than 100 participants also may be required to have an audit if they fail to meet certain conditions relating...
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Which sign are you more likely to obey: “Keep off the Grass!” or “Please Walk on the Pathways”? Research shows that we comprehend a positive statement 30 to 40 percent faster than we do a negative statement.Our mind actually has to unscramble a negative message to determine the meaning. Consider...
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Adding fuel to the fire, an attack on the IRA rollover industry by Bloomberg cites numerous examples of advisors preying on retirees rolling their 401(k) money into IRAs. One expert claims that IRAs are the “Wild West,” with limited oversight and regulation. The report focuses on one advisor who...
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Investment committee members generally are satisfied with the diversity of the committees to which they belong, according to a study by Vanguard. Nearly 30 percent defined diversity of their investment committee in terms of members’ backgrounds, and nearly 40 percent said it concerned the...
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Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 412(d)(2) was originally enacted as part of ERISA over 40 years ago. (The language was moved to its current statutory location by the Pension Protection Act of 2006.) It provides that certain plan amendments adopted after the close of the plan year may be given...
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Funds held in inherited IRAs are not retirement funds and must be included in a bankruptcy estate, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 12. The Court’s 9-0 ruling in Clark v. Rameker, No. 13-299 (U.S. 6/12/14), aff’d 714 F.3d 559 (7th Cir. 2013)) was definitive in drawing a distinction between...
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Do you know of an ASPPA member who has made a significant contribution to pension education, especially in the last 12 months? You can help make it possible for him or her to receive recognition! Nominations are now being accepted by the ASPPA Retirement Plan Academy Advisory Group for ASPPA’s...
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ASPPA has suggested ways in which the Department of Labor could improve the proposed amendment to the Section 408(b)(2) fee disclosure regulations. Click here to view ASPPA’s letter to John Canary, director of the Office of Regulations and Interpretations at the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security...
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Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) has asked Labor Secretary Tom Perez to look at potential conflicts of interest among pension consultants that recommend their own investments to clients, The Wall Street Journal reports. The trend is for consultants, whose margins are getting squeezed, to manage money...
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Have you voted yet in the market research ASPPA is conducting? The results are rolling in, but you can still participate in ASPPA’s effort to identify industry trends that regularly cause the most pain. After the first week, the top five pain points are: Mergers and acquisitions Affiliated...
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Which factors most influence plan sponsors when they choose a plan provider? At the top of the list: trustworthiness and customer service, according to a new survey conducted by the National Association of Retirement Plan Participants (NARPP). Next are technology, education, administrative service...
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Many sobering reports have been issued regarding the degree to which U.S. workers are preparing — or not — for retirement. The Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) Personal Savings Initiative (PSI) may not be the first effort that seeks to help turn the tide of poor savings rates, but it has heft and...
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Plan sponsors are committed to helping plan participants prepare for their retirement, says a study Brightwork conducted for the Principal Financial Group. The study looked at the responses of 283 plan sponsors, all of whom offer a 401(k), have more than 50 eligible employees and use the services...
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The federal government and U.S. workers agree that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — a.k.a. Obamacare — will affect the timing of retirements. However, IFAwebnews reports that there’s a wide gap between what the government and many workers expect that effect to be, according to a survey conducted for...
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ASPPA is conducting market research with TPAs and consultants in mind to help develop our educational offerings. Please take five minutes to participate in a fun, interactive online voting tool — tell us what industry trend regularly causes you the most pain and prevents you from becoming more...
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When it comes to having sufficient funds during retirement, expectations are low and fears rife everywhere, according to a recent study. In “The Changing Face of Retirement: The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2014,” the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and Aegon polled 16,000 employees...
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Employees who are terminated may be gone, but they’re not always forgotten — at least regarding the retirement plan. A growing number of plans allow terminated employees to live on as participants, notes Robert Leahy of Alliance Benefit Group. How many plans do this? According to Leahy, 12 percent...
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